Trap for water supply to clothes-washing machines



1952 F. A. ROSENKRANS ETAL 2,619,

TRAP FOR WATER SUPPLY TO CLOTHES-WASHING MACHINES Filed Dec. 5, 1947 Inventors: F'r-a'nk A.F?osenkr-ans,

Walt er- M. Sale,

Th eir Attorn ey.

Patented Dec. 2, 1952 UNITED STATES P OFFICE 1 This invention relates to clothes washingmachines and more particularly to arrangements for supplying water tosuch machines; Itis especially well adapted for use in automatic clothes washing machines although not limited thereto.

Plumbing codes of various communities require that provision be made in connection with such machines to prevent the back-siphoning of water from the machine into'thefresh water supply system. This can be accomplished, for example, by providing an air gap across which water is supplied to the washing machine. However, this introduces the problem that suds developed during the operation of the washing machine may overflow in the region of' this air' gap.

Itisan object of this invention to provide a water supply for a clothes washing-machine having an air gap and including an arrangement for preventing'the' overflow of suds through said gap.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent as the followingdescription proceeds and the features of' novelty which characterize this invention will be pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. v

For a better understanding of this invention reference maybe had to the accompanying drawing'in which Fig. 1 shows, partlyin section, a washing machine embodying this invention; and Fig. 2 shows a modification.

Referring now to Fig. 1, the washing machine includes an outer housing I supported on a suitable base structure 2. An outer cover 3 closes the top opening of the housing and is supported by the housing by any suitable mounting device, as indicated at 5. A tub 5 is arranged within and supported by the housing and an inner cover 6 is disposed in sealing engagement with the top rim 1' of the tub. The inner cover is secured to the outer cover through an intermediate sealing ring 8. The sealing ring 8 also serves as a gasket- Ior a lid 9 which provides access to the interior of the washing machine.

The washing mechanism is arranged within the tub 5 and includes an agitator it driven by a motor enclosed within a casing H, the agitator being oscillated during the washing operation. A spinner basket 12 also driven by the motor within casing H is provided for holding the clothes, the agitator It being arranged within the spinner basket. A circulating pump I3 is disposed at the bottom of the tub for circulating water through a conduit 14 during the washing and filling operations. A drain pump I5 is also provided at the bottom of the tub for discharging water" from the machine through the drain tube 16.

The washing machine structure sofar described is a' known one and is shown somewhat diagrammaueaiiy and Way of example. a It is to be takeri as typical of any suitable washing machine. In general, amacnme ofthetype disclosed in the application of Thomas T. wgodsoa Serial NO. 551,096, filed Align St 25. 1944, Patent No. 2,527,238, and assigned to the same ass'ignee as the insta' t application is'illustrated a Our invention has do more particularly with an improved constructionand arrangement for s p blyingwaterto'th'machine. v 7

Water" is. suppliedto the" machine through a confirm valve 11. not water", for example'w'ater having a tem erature of the order of degrees F., passes through a pipe (8 and is dis- Charged from 51162213 19 across an air gap 2U 136 a soap dfspefise'r 21 which discharges to the'b'ot tom of the tubj5i Tepid water is" supplied through a. pipe 22 and is'disc'ha'rged'from a nozzle 2'3a'cross an air gap 24'. murder to convey this water to the interior of the tub without'going through the soap dispenser a conduit 25 is provided. Thisv conduit includes upper inlet end 2'6'sp'aced from the nozzle'"25' to provide the1air'gap2t. ,A funnel-shaped portion is provided at the inlet end 26 for receiving the water iron-i the" noz'zle 2'3' and possible'drip from nozzle l9. The conduit 25 has its discharge end 21 located at the bottom of the tub 5 at a point below the level of the inlet end 26.

As shown in the drawing the discharge opening 28 is arranged below the normal operating level 29 of the water in the tub 5 and below the normal operating level of the suds which at times may extend substantially to the top of the tub 5. In order to prevent the suds from working out through the conduit 25 to the inlet end 26 thereof and overflowing through the air gap 24 the conduit 25 is formed to provide a liquid trap. This trap is formed by extending the conduit 25 down along the exterior of the tub, bending the conduit at the lower end to form a U-shaped portion, and then extending the conduit upwardly into the tub as. shown .in the drawing. This shape of the conduit provides a U-shaped section or trap 30 at the lower end in which water is trapped. Suds are thereby prevented from passing through the conduit 25 and from overflowing at the gap 2-4, since any suds passing into the conduit 25 contact the water in the trap 30 and further progress of the suds is prevented.

The discharge opening 28 of the conduit '25 is arranged below the normal operating level 29 of the water in the tub, as explained above. By this arrangement the presence of water within the trap 36 for preventing overflow of suds is insured whether water is first supplied to the tub through the conduit 25 for a soaking operation or Whether I the soaking operation is omitted and water is first supplied to the tub through the pipe 18. An alternative arrangement is shown in Fig. 2. In this form the discharge conduit 25 is extended into the tub so that the discharge opening 31 is above the normal water level 29 within the tub. A deflector 32 is provided adjacent the discharge opening for directing water from the conduit 25 around and beneath the spinner basket l2. In order to insure the presence of water in the liquid trap 36 when the soaking operation is omitted and water is first supplied to the machine through the pipe [8 rather than through the conduit 25, a small opening 33 is provided in the conduit 25 below the water level 29 in the tub.

While a specific embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it is not desired that this invention be limited to the particular construction shown and it is intended by the appended claims to cover all modifications within the spirit and scope of this invention.

What we claim as new and desire to Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. In a clothes washing machine having a water and detergent receiving tub with a bottom wall and upwardly extending sidewalls, a water supply system comprising a conduit having an inlet end outside said tub and below the upper edge of the sidewalls thereof and a discharge end extending upwardly through the bottom wall of said tub above the normal liquid level therein, water supply means for said conduit discharging substantially above the conduit inlet end to provide an air gap, said conduit further having a U-shaped secure by portion between said inlet and said discharge ends, said U-shaped'portion extending below the bottom wall of said tub, and means defining an aperture in said conduit within said tub below the normal liquid level therein to introduce liquid to said U-shaped portion from said tub.

2. In a clothes washing machine having a water and detergent receiving tub with a botton wall and upwardly extending sidewalls, a water supply system comprising a conduit having an inlet end outside said tub and a discharge end extending upwardly within said tub through the bottom wall thereof and above the normal liquid level there= in, water supply means for said conduit discharg= mg substantially above the conduit inlet end to provide an airgap, a liquid trap in said conduit below the bottom wall of said tub, and an aperture in the portion of said conduit within said tub adjacent said bottom wall and also below the normal liquid level in said tub to establish a quantity of liquid in said trap.

3, In a clothes washing machine, a tub defined by a bottom wall and upwardly extending sidewalls, a spinner basket within said tub, Water inlet means discharging into said spinner basket with overflow from said spinner basket passing into said tub, a conduit for conveying water directly into said tub having an inlet below the upper edge of said tub sidewalls and an outlet extending upwardly through said bottom tub wall above the normal water level therein, said conduit including a liquid trap between the inlet and outlet ends thereof and having a trap sealing level below said bottom tub wall, means spaced from said conduit for supplying water to said conduit inlet across an air gap, and an opening into the portion of said conduit within said tub adjacent said bottom wall and below the normal water level within said tub for admitting water into said trap. FRANK A. ROSENKRANS.

WALTER M. SALE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS.

Number Name 7 Date 210,965 Rhoads Dec. 17, 1878 417,351 Anderson Dec. 17, 1889 1,769,836 Holmes July 1, 1930 1,965,379 Jewell July 3, 1934 2,250,291 Boosey July 22, 1941 2,250,974 Stoddard July 29, 1941 2,417,908 Bowen Mar. 25, '1947 2,566,469

Tea et a1. Sept. 4, 1951 

